Published 13:00 IST, June 21st 2020
Trump slams anti-racism protests and defends his handling of COVID-19 at Tulsa rally
Trump launched a scathing attack at the protesters and also defended his coronavirus response at a rally on June 20. Trump held his first rally since March.
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US President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack at the protesters and also defended his coronavirus response at a rally on June 20. Trump held his first re-election rally since early March and the event was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where 90 years ago over 300 African-Americans were brutally killed by white supremacists, one of the country's bloodiest racist violence. Trump during his speech attacked the 'Black Lives Matter' protesters who were demonstrating outside the arena, where the president was speaking to his supporters. Trump dubbed the protesters as 'unhinged left-wing mob' who according to him are trying to vandalize America's history by defacing and destroying statues and historical monuments.
Trump also defended his administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak that has so far killed more than 1,19,000 people and has infected over 2 million people in the United States. Trump said that the cases were rising because his administration is testing more people daily, before jokingly suggesting that he has asked them to slow down the testing.
The 19,000 seat BOK Center was mostly empty, addressing that Trump's campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told the media that protesters were preventing supporters from entering the arena. Tim further said there were some shouting matches and scuffles between the protesters and supporters of Trump outside the arena. Trump during his speech told the crowd that he was not at his best, saying 'so far tonight, I'm average'.
Presidential election
Trump will be facing a massive challenge in the upcoming November 3 presidential election as his approval ratings have hit an all-time low, where in contrast his rival, Joe Biden's ratings have risen. Political pundits suggest that the reason behind a dip in Trump's approval ratings is his coronavirus response, which has made the United States the worst-hit nation in the world, with more deaths than top affected countries combined. Trump's reign is also witnessing the biggest protest since the Vietnam war as many Americans have poured onto the streets to demand an end of racial abuse and police brutality against minorities.
However, political experts say that Trump is not at all worried about the protests as it helps him shift the public attention from his administration's awful coronavirus response to something that can create a divide between the voters before the elections that are scheduled to take place later this year.
Updated 13:00 IST, June 21st 2020